Smith's busy year brings him to Amarillo

More than 30 years into his career, Michael W. Smith is busier than ever.

Contemporary Christian superstar Smith, 56, already has one album out in 2014, with another, “Sovereign,” due out in a month.

“That’s pretty crazy, isn’t it? I probably have released two in one year, maybe with a ‘Best of,’ but to actually record two in one year is pretty rare, and there might be a third one, believe it or not, a Christmas one,” Smith said.

The singer’s resurgent career brings him back to Amarillo for a 7 p.m. Saturday concert at Amarillo High School, 4225 Danbury St., sponsored by Kingswood United Methodist Church.

Smith’s first album of the year, “Hymns,” was released in March through Cracker Barrel, a collection of some of Smith’s favorite traditional church music.

“It was tough” to narrow the field to a 15-track album, Smith said.

“There are so many songs, I just couldn’t do them all,” Smith said. “You really have to go with your gut.”

Twelve of the songs were tunes he grew up singing in his childhood church home in West Virginia, including “The Old Rugged Cross,” the first song he ever sang solo.

With “Sovereign,” Smith took an opposite tack — looking to the future, instead of the past.

“I was writing with a bunch of kids I’m old enough to be their dad,” Smith said. “I got out of my comfort zone and decided to live on the edge.

“I feel like if I’m going to reinvent myself again, I just needed a new team, I needed a fresh slate.”

Smith said he was convinced he needed to take risks to keep giving his career momentum, despite a history of winning three Grammy Awards and 40 Dove Awards, selling more than 15 million albums and recording 28 No. 1 hits.

“It’s not about being a superstar and being on top,” Smith said. “It’s such a huge calling in my life.”